April 2020 Tripartite Agreement between TfL, Bus Operators and Unite the Union

Keith Prince: In Question 2020/1724, I requested “all documentation including the actual agreements, memorandums, emails, drafts, meeting minutes and handwritten notes pertaining to the Tripartite Agreement (“The Bus Industry and its People Working Together to Support London“) signed between TfL, Bus Operators and Unite the Union in April 2020.” You only sent me a copy of the final agreement. When can I expect to receive the rest of the documentation I requested?

The Mayor: I have asked Transport for London to look into this request and get back to you as soon as possible.

TfL Taxi & PH Finances

Keith Prince: What is the TFL Taxi & PH financial position for accounting periods 2018/19 & 2019/20 and why has the Mayor failed to publish the figures for these periods?

The Mayor: Thank you for raising this with me and Transport for London (TfL).
I’ve asked TfL to rectify this as a priority and to publish the Taxi and Private Hire financial summary documents for 2018/19 and 2019/20 as soon as possible. I’ve also asked TfL to inform your office when this has been done.

Advice about Middle Door Boarding

Keith Prince: In your response to Question 2020/1728 you sent me (but did not publish) a 16 April Memo about the Middle Door Boarding Trial, but failed to send me “any drafts, analyses and correspondence (including emails or handwritten notes) associated with this decision” as I requested. When can I expect to receive this information?

The Mayor: I have asked Transport for London to look into this request and get back to you as soon as possible.

Temporary Suspension of Free Travel for 11-17 year olds (10)

Alison Moore: What smartcard solution is TfL’s preference, whether it be using the existing Oyster cards or a flashcard solution? If the former, what needs to be true to deliver that and what is the timescale for doing so.

The Mayor: The Government has asked Transport for London (TfL) to temporarily suspend free travel for 11-17-year-olds as part of their funding agreement. The details of the arrangement which the Government has requested remain under discussion between the Department for Transport, TfL, and London’s boroughs, but would be widely communicated as soon as finalised.
TfL’s preference is for a smartcard solution, as smartcards make it easier to mitigate misuse. Once the Government’s scheme is finalised, TfL would work with its suppliers to provide a smartcard solution as quickly as possible. TfL continues to work the Department for Transport (DfT) to agree the timescales for when a smartcard solution could be implemented.

Temporary Suspension of Free Travel for 11-17 year olds (4)

Alison Moore: Of the children with an a) 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard; or b) 16+ Zip Oyster photocard, who live less than two miles from their school/college, how many of them have an Education, Health & Care Plan and so remain eligible for free travel to school? Please provide details of how this information is being sourced and compared with TfL’s ZIP card data.

The Mayor: TfL does not hold this information. The arrangements for the changes to free travel provision which the Government has requested remain under discussion between the Department for Transport and TfL. TfL has advised that it believes this information needs to be sourced from the Local Education Authorities or schools.
Please also see my answer to Mayor’s Question 2020/3159.

Harrow On The Hill – Tube Noise

Navin Shah: For years I’ve been working with local residents and TfL to resolve the noise generated from Metropolitan line. We were assured by the TfL that acoustic fence would provide the requisite noise reduction and much work with specialists took place on that basis. After three years, now TFL engineers seem to believe that an acoustic fence might not be the right solution to provide the noise reduction. How long do the residents have to wait for the right solution(s)? We require urgent and serious help to resolve the matters and get the works implemented.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is committed to finding a resolution to this issue and has been working to ensure the best solution is identified before being implemented. TfL has commissioned an independent industry expert to conduct a report into the expected efficacy of an acoustic barrier in this location, which is currently being finalised. I have asked that TfL keeps you updated on the progress of these investigations and that you are informed once this report has been finalised.

Secure employment for cycle instructors

Caroline Russell: The economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have highlighted the dangers of insecure employment. Most Transport for London (TfL) funded cycle instructors are on insecure contracts that left them unable to be supported by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. What measures will you and TfL take to ensure that instructors are offered secure employment?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has secured £2 million from the Department for Transport for cycle training in London, which is allocated to the London boroughs to deliver cycle training directly. Each borough has been allocated £60,000 to deliver cycle training up to the end of March 2021, and boroughs are in the process of claiming their initial allocations. Boroughs are responsible for their own procurement and TfL does not hold any contracts for the delivery of cycle training directly.
Most boroughs outsource the delivery of cycle training to private companies, and a small number of boroughs deliver cycle training directly. The employment of cycle instructors is a matter for the cycle training providers and boroughs. However, during lockdown, TfL has encouraged cycle instructors to make full use of any financial support they are entitled to from the various Government schemes, including those available for self-employed workers.

Finchley Memorial Hospital bus services

Andrew Dismore: Will you consider extending other bus routes to Finchley Memorial Hospital? The extension of the 383 only benefits a few residents of North Finchley, and excludes residents of Finchley Central and East Finchley from being able to access the hospital by bus.

The Mayor: Extending route 383 would create a direct link between Finchley Memorial Hospital and North Finchley bus station within the town centre, as well as creating direct links to the hospital from Woodside Park, Whetstone, East, New and High Barnet. Passengers without a direct link can interchange at North Finchley, which is served by eight bus routes providing onward connectivity to destinations across north and west London including East Finchley and Finchley Central. Routes serving these locations can also be accessed by customers who can walk up to 500 metres between the hospital and Finchley High Road and Ballards Lane. Customers can also use the Hopper Fare to change buses for no extra charge.
Options to reroute routes 263 and 460 to serve the hospital have been considered, but would affect the journey times of over a thousand through passengers per weekday, would mean running larger double-deck vehicles along Granville Road, and would require further highway works and loss of parking with the hospital grounds.

125 bus extension [1]

Andrew Dismore: Has there been any assessment of the performance of the 125 bus extension in terms of passenger numbers?

The Mayor: Transport for London has assessed passenger usage on the extension of route 125 between Finchley Central and Colindale station. The extension provides new orbital links across the London Borough of Barnet between Colindale and Barnet Council’s new headquarters, Hendon, Finchley, Whetstone, and the London Borough of Enfield. It also provides additional capacity within the Burnt Oak and Colindale Growth Area, where over ten thousand new homes are being built.
This service change started on Saturday 25 May 2019 and actual usage has already exceeded first year forecasts, with an average of around 3,700 new trips per weekday using the route by the end of February 2020 – a 25 per cent increase in overall route demand.

Road traffic

Len Duvall: Can you confirm whether members of the public have been told that it is TfL’s policy to filter traffic onto B roads because TfL does not want traffic on A roads? Can you clarify TfL’s policy in this area?

The Mayor: It is not Transport for London (TfL) policy to reassign traffic from A roads to B roads.
My Transport Strategy sets out how TfL will work with boroughs and other stakeholders to prioritise a shift from personal motor vehicles to walking, cycling and public transport. This will make more efficient use of road space, reduce overall traffic levels and tackle congestion. It will also help to make London’s roads safer and improve our air quality.
In the near term, TfL and the London boroughs are delivering mode shift and prioritising space on London’s streets through my Streetspace for London programme. This includes measures such as protected cycle lanes and 24/7 bus routes to encourage and prioritise sustainable travel, as well as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and School Streets to help reduce traffic, prevent rat-running and encourage walking and cycling on local and residential roads.

Temporary Suspension of Free Travel for 11-17 year olds (11)

Alison Moore: What plans do you have for managing demand when schools return in September?

The Mayor: Many school trips are very short, with some 40 per cent of secondary school trips under 3 kilometres. I asked Transport for London (TfL) to introduce a Travel Demand Management programme to encourage children to walk, scoot or cycle to school where possible and to encourage adults to travel at quiet times and to walk or cycle wherever possible. TfL has also asked schools to stagger their start and finish times to reduce peak demand, and it has made a number of changes to the bus network, as set out in my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/3154.
This is part of a wider multi-channel strategy to manage returning demand across the capital by promoting travel at off-peak times to both customers and businesses and highlighting the stations, stops and routes that are likely to be busy outside of the quiet times. This helps to make more space on the network at school travel times and has been successful to manage the return of schools in early September.
This approach is supported by other initiatives, including the STARS safer journey planner and London Streetspace Programme.
We know that this approach is having an impact. On Monday 21 September (up to 1000hrs), for example, 200,000 distinct zip cards were used compared to an expected 294,600 baseline (compared to same day last year). This is 69 per cent of normal demand.

Improving public transport CCTV retention times and communication (2)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2017/2109. I was very disappointed to find recently that the CCTV retention times on different modes of transport are not given on the web pages that were improved following my question (https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/privacy-and-cookies/cctv and https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/safety/report-a-crime-or-incident). It is vitally important for people to know that images and evidence may not be retained for long after they experience crimes such as sexual assault and harassment, making prompt reporting essential. Could you look into this issue and restore this information to the pages?

The Mayor: On both of these pages on the Transport for London (TfL) website it is explained that CCTV is generally only retained for a limited period and that requests to access the footage and reports of crimes or incidents should be made as soon as possible. These pages do not publicise the precise length of the various retention periods for CCTV on the TfL network because expert advice is that this undermines the usefulness of CCTV as a deterrent to criminal activity, particularly when it may be terrorism-related.

Impact of coronavirus on the taxi industry

Caroline Russell: London is now a much quieter place, with fewer workers in the daytime, fewer revellers in the night-time, and fewer tourists visiting the city. This has reduced the demand for taxi journeys to an unprecedentedly low level. What plans do you have to support the future viability of the taxi trade in London as demand changes?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) and I recognise the difficulties faced by both taxi and private hire drivers, alongside many other professions across London and the UK at this time. London taxis are iconic and remain an integral part of the transport network for Londoners, visitors and businesses.
TfL has been working to understand the impact of the crisis on the taxi and private hire industries, and has put in place measures to help them wherever possible. TfL has published a number of TPH Notices containing practical advice and details of the support available to all licensees. There are frequent conference calls with the industries to ensure that they are provided with up to date information. These are also an opportunity to understand industry-wide concerns.
During this period, TfL’s priority has been to maintain its licensing function and has continued to support the industry by making pragmatic changes to its licensing service arrangements.
For example, TfL continued to licence vehicles that were due to expire between 23 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 (inclusive) as a result of the exceptional circumstances that required them to temporarily close its vehicle licensing inspection centres. TfL also offered owners of older vehicles the opportunity to obtain a final licence for their vehicle if, in normal circumstances, they would have sought to do so in the period 23 March to 30 June.
TfL and I will continue to do what we can to help London’s taxi and private hire trades recover during these difficult times.

Update on the Northern Line Extension

Florence Eshalomi: Can the Mayor provide an update on the Northern Line Extension?

The Mayor: In March, Transport for London (TfL) took the decision to bring its construction work to a temporary Safe Stop, in accordance with the guidance at the time from the Government and Public Health England. Work on all four Northern Line Extension (NLE) worksites resumed on 27 May. NLE sites were prepared for social distancing measures and were safely re-opened, fully compliant with Public Health England guidelines. Numbers on-site have gradually, and safely, increased since the work restarted. While not at pre-coronavirus levels, TfL is now averaging 620 operatives across all NLE sites each day.
Recent achievements include handing over the Battersea station roof at the end of July to Battersea Power Station Development Company to continue its over-station development, and the start of landscaping works at several sites following five years of construction. Elsewhere, good progress continues to be made with the installation and commissioning of all railway systems. The completion of these works will allow TfL to commence systems testing at the end of the year, before entering a period of trial operations in summer 2021.
TfL is conducting a review of how the pandemic and Safe Stop has affected its overall programme. TfL continues to strive to achieve its target opening date window of autumn 2021, subject to the outcome of its ongoing discussions with Government over the funding support it needs following the impact of coronavirus on its finances.

TfL Pay

Tony Devenish: What was the average pay and conditions (full recovery cost) for a TfL staff member in May 2016, May 2017, May 2018, May 2019 and May 2020?

The Mayor: The total number of people employed by Transport for London (TfL) has reduced year-on-year under my Mayoralty, from 27,441 in 2016 to 26,289 in 2020. Additionally, the number of TfL employees earning base salaries above £100,000 dropped 17 per cent from 188 in 2016 to 156 in 2020.
The below table shows the average level of basic salary for a TfL employee at May 2016-2020. It also shows the cost of employers’ National Insurance contributions and the regular ongoing employers’ contribution to the TfL pension fund in line with its established methodology for calculating cost of employment. Before the coronavirus pandemic, TfL had improved its financial resilience by reducing its net cost of operations by more than £1 billion since 2015/16.

Crossrail

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide an update on the current deployment of train drivers that were trained to operate on the line ahead of its expected opening date of December 2018?

The Mayor: Operator MTR (Mass Transit Railway) Elizabeth line employs 469 qualified train drivers, which is sufficient to operate the Elizabeth line passenger timetable. These drivers are currently utilised as follows:-
The balance of train drivers is being used to support the release of other drivers for training, as MTR continues a programme to ensure that all drivers based at each depot are able to resource train services over the full geography of the Elizabeth line, when it is fully open.

Freight Transport Consolidation

Tony Devenish: Freight transport consolidation appears to have slowed down in London since the GLA led the world on this green ‘no brainer’ at the time of the 2012 Olympics. How will you actively support the DfT's Gear Change proposals?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) and the GLA support the Gear Change proposals in a number of ways. The London Plan supports consolidation as a means of reducing freight kilometres. Policy E4 calls for a sufficient supply of land for consolidation centres and collection points. Policy T7 sets out that development plans and frameworks should seek to reduce road danger, noise and emissions from freight through sustainable last-mile schemes.
TfL has published guidance on the use of construction consolidation centres and the use of rail and water, including an interactive tool which maps and provides details of these facilities https://wft.wspdigital.co.uk/. TfL’s guidance on Construction Logistics Plans now requires greater consideration of the use of these.
TfL also continues to enable the voluntary adoption of consolidation and sustainable last mile delivery methods. Working with London’s Business Improvement Districts and Business Groups, TfL has matched-funded 13 such schemes.
More recently, TfL turned to global innovators to design scalable methods of consolidation and sustainable last mile delivery. Partners include: DPD, Royal Mail, UPS and John Lewis & Partners.

Congestion Charge and StreetSpace

Jennette Arnold: Constituents in Islington are raising concerns that the change in congestion charge cost and times alongside the StreetSpace scheme are negatively impacting upon their lives. They report struggling to access local services or visit family as a result. How will you be addressing this to ensure that StreetSpace allows all Londoners to access local services and support?

The Mayor: Recent access changes in Islington are part of the “People Friendly Streets” programme which is led by the London Borough of Islington (LBI). Transport for London (TfL) is part-funding two schemes within this programme as part of my Streetspace for London plan.
TfL understands that LBI has designed the closures in such a way that access to all addresses is maintained, although some routes are prohibited for motor vehicles (other than buses and emergency service vehicles). This is designed to deter through traffic, improve these areas for walking and cycling, and provide more flexibility in how streets are used while social distancing is required. The changes have been made under Experimental Traffic Orders so the council will continue to monitor and gather feedback on these schemes to see if further changes are necessary.
The temporary changes to the Congestion Charge will help to prevent streets in central London becoming unusably congested while more space is needed to accommodate the increased numbers of people walking and cycling while public transport capacity is constrained by social distancing requirements. We need more people to walk or cycle some or all of their journeys so that the space on public transport is available for those that need it most. These temporary changes where brought forward in accordance with TfL's funding agreement with Government and are being kept under review to ensure they remain effective.

Thermal Imaging Camera Trial

Tony Devenish: Will you update the Assembly on any results for the thermal imaging camera trials aimed at detecting fevers in commuters?

The Mayor: Throughout the pandemic Transport for London (TfL) has utilised a range of approaches to help minimise risk to staff and customers. This has included the free distribution of face coverings to commuters and their provision to all operational staff, participating in the Department of Health’s asymptomatic testing trial, and working with six bus operators to trial temperature testing. However, as far as I am aware, there are no thermal imaging camera trials aimed at detecting fevers in commuters currently taking place at TfL.
Many thermal cameras were originally designed for non-medical purposes, such as site security. Using these products for temperature screening could put people’s health at risk because they may not accurately detect increased temperature. The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has told manufacturers and suppliers of thermal cameras that they should not make claims which directly relate to Covid-19 diagnosis. These products should only be used in line with the manufacturer’s original intended use, and not to screen people for Covid-19 symptoms. They do not perform to the level required to accurately support a medical diagnosis.

Furlough Payments (1)

Tony Devenish: What was your rationale for ‘topping up’ the 80% furlough payment when few other employers – public or private – did so?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor's Question 2020/2846.

Reduction in Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

Keith Prince: During your term, approximately 4600 wheelchair accessible vehicles have disappeared from the overall taxi fleet total. Are you concerned for those Londoners with protected characteristics?

The Mayor: Taxis play an essential role in providing a door-to-door service for passengers, which is particularly important for those passengers with accessibility needs.
Regarding the reduction in numbers, please see my answer to Mayor’s Question 2020/2687.

Congestion Charge and Police Officers

Shaun Bailey: Why are police officers not exempt from the congestion charge?

The Mayor: There are two Congestion Charge exemptions and discounts which are available to the police, these being for all operational emergency vehicles and for vehicles where it has been identified and agreed that they are being used for essential policing purposes and no alternatives are available.Free travel isalsoprovidedfor the police onTransport for London’spublic transportservices.

Vision Zero Targets

Caroline Pidgeon: Point 3.33 of the minutes of the 10 September Safety Sustainability and Human Resources Panel Meeting states "We will undoubtedly have less capital budget in the future. This means that achieving our ambitious targets for safety improvement, particularly around Vision Zero, will be inevitably more challenging." If safety is, as you claim, top priority, are you now preparing the ground to abandon your Vision Zero targets?

The Mayor: I understand that the quote you have referenced is taken from a paper presented at the meeting of Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Safety Sustainability and Human Resources Panel which took place on 10 June. The Paper was entitled ‘Update on TfL’s Safety and Health Response to Covid-19’.
In that paper, a comment was made reflecting the reality of the financial situation TfL is facing as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on its finances. It absolutely does not mean TfL or I are abandoning our commitment to Vision Zero and the principle that we should work to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network. Safety remains the top priority for TfL in all its activities, and this will be reflected as a priority in future investment and improvement activity by the organisation.

Congestion Charge Consultation (1)

Shaun Bailey: For the Congestion Charge increase proposals consultation – please provide a copy of the responses to the consultation?

The Mayor: In total, more than 14,000 emails and letters were received in response to the call for expressions of views on the proposed temporary changes to the Congestion Charge.
Transport for London (TfL) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) may make responses to consultations publicly available, however, any personal data must be kept confidential. Responses may also be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
In order to provide these responses to you, TfL and GLA officers would need to redact the personal data included in each of the 14,000 responses. This would require considerable staff time and effort at a critical time when resources should not be diverted from core activities. Any request for the responses under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 would be refused on this basis.
I do not, therefore, intend to ask TfL and the GLA to provide a copy of the responses to you. The themes raised in the responses were comprehensively summarised in the Mayoral Decision form (in both the decision document and Integrated Impact Assessment), which is publicly available here: https://www.london.gov.uk/decisions/md2648-temporary-changes-congestion-charge

Face masks on the TfL network (1)

Gareth Bacon: What work is TfL undertaking to monitor and track the usage of face masks on the TfL network?

The Mayor: Most public transport users are doing the right thing by wearing face coverings to keep themselves and others safe. Compliance continues to be generally very high, particularly during peak travel times.
Compliance is measured through periodic observations by frontline staff, CCTV monitoring and through customer research.
Transport for London (TfL) customer research findings for 1-6 September show 91 per cent of customers say they are wearing face coverings at all times on TfL public transport services, 5 per cent are wearing it on some journeys and 4 per cent not at all. Of the 9 per cent not wearing a face covering at all times or not at all, over half claim to have an exemption/good reason under the regulations for not doing so.
TfL has put processes in place so that frontline staff can report issues with face covering compliance. TfL and the police are targeting locations and times of day where compliance is reported to be lower.

Face masks on the TfL network (2)

Gareth Bacon: In relation to non-compliance of face masks on the TfL network, how many fines have been issued since the instruction came into force and how many of these fines have been paid?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) enforcement activity began on 4 July, following an initial three weeks of extensive customer facing communication and engagement by frontline staff about the new requirement. The police are engaging with similar levels of passengers and stopping those without a face covering and who do not have an exemption from travelling. The numbers below do not include police enforcement.
Between 4 July and 17 September, TfL enforcement officers have:

TfL Taxi Spending

Shaun Bailey: How much money did TfL spend on Taxis in the 2018-19 and 2019/20 financial years?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) primarily uses taxis to get staff to and from work at times of the day when other means of public transport are not available.
TfL’s total expenditure for the previous two financial years is shown below.
Expenditure
2018/19
2019/20
Taxi
£20,892.15
£26,685.84

Congestion Charge Consultation (2)

Shaun Bailey: What percentage of those who replied to the Congestion Charge consultation were in favour of the proposals and what percentage were against them?

The Mayor: More than 14,000 emails and letters were submitted to either Transport for London or to the Greater London Authority. The responses were free text, rather than a questionnaire with support / oppose questions, and so covered many issues. As such, it was not possible to categorise them as simply for or against the proposals, particularly as the proposals covered a number of different potential changes to the scheme. A broad range of both supportive and negative views were raised, and all of the responses were considered I detail.
Changes to the original proposals were made as a result, including a new local authorities and charity reimbursement and an extended window for new applicants to apply for the residents’ discount.

Congestion Charge

Navin Shah: A seven days a week congestion charge is criticised as discriminatory by some residents, disallowing older people who need to travel to London by car. Can you, will you, consider further exemptions where older people are not able to use public transport?

The Mayor: On 14 May 2020, a funding package for Transport for London (TfL) was agreed with the Department for Transport. Under the package, at the Government’s request,TfLreinstated road user charging schemes and urgently bought forward proposals to widen the scope and levels of road user charging schemes in accordance with its legal powers and decision-making process. These proposals included applying the Congestion Charge seven days a week.
The temporary changes supportthe reallocation of road space to walking and cycling whilst public transport capacity is constrained by social distancing requirements and facilitate the movement of essential traffic (including buses and emergency service vehicles) in central London during the coronavirus pandemic.The impact on older Londoners wasconsidered in the Integrated Impact Assessment that was undertaken in respect of the proposals.
As a result of the feedback received from stakeholders and the public, the temporary suspension of the residents’ discount to new applicants was delayed, giving residents of the Congestion Charge Zone who had not previously registered for the 90% residents’ discount until the end of July to do so. Older people who are not residents but wish to drive in the zone may also be eligible for other discounts or exemptions, including the 100% Blue Badge discount or Cleaner Vehicle Discount, or may qualify for the NHS patient reimbursement if they are travelling to a medical appointment.Further discounts could erode the congestion benefits of the scheme.
These changes to the Congestion Charge aretemporaryand are being keptunder review.

Kingsbury Curve – Tube Noise

Navin Shah: Residents continue to raise concerns about noise emanating from the Kingsbury Curve. There seems to be conflicting information as to what work has and will take place to help resolve this issue. Could you provide a full breakdown of the actions taken to mitigate the extreme noise? Further to this the local residents have been advised about resumption of the planned track renewal works on the Jubilee Line between Wembley Park station and Kingsbury.Theworks will be carried out overnight causing further noise and sleep disruption. Can TfL not use this opportunity to deal with the existing high noise levels?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) undertook preparatory works in 2019 for a new timetable on the Jubilee line, which unfortunately had the unintended effect of causing noise issues in the area. TfL took the opportunity to address the noise issue while the remainder of the preparatory works were being carried out, but had to pause interventions owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The team resumed the preparatory works and noise mitigations in mid-September, replacing sleepers and grinding the rails. Further work planned includes tamping and fitting electrical lubricators, which TfL expects will have a positive effect on noise. TfL is committed to keeping the noise from these works to an absolute minimum, and sound absorbent barriers have and will continue to be used to minimise disruption.

TfL Furlough (5)

Susan Hall: Please list all the TfL departments from which staff were furloughed and the number of staff per department.

The Mayor: A total of 7,413 Transport for London (TfL) employees were furloughed under the Government Job Retention Scheme. These were largely members of staff working in back office and support functions and TfL has not furloughed any staff critical to enabling the increase in service levels.
The below table shows a breakdown of the total number across TfL departments. Please note that ‘Other’ shows where groups of less than 10 employees have been furloughed in a department.

TfL High Earners

David Kurten: On 22 July 2020, you appeared before Parliament’s Transport Select Committee and told them: ‘Unlike du ring the previous administration where the number of people earning over £100,000 was going up and bonuses were going up, in the last four years they have been going down.’ However, for the end of the financial year 2015/16, when you took over as London’s Mayor, the total number of TfL employees earning more than £100,000 was 458 - including Crossrail staff. That went up for the next two years - to a high of 617. It then dropped to 515, before rising again last year to 557. That information is freely available in the public domain. I am sure that you did not intend to mislead Parliament, but I would like to know why you provided information which was demonstrably untrue.

The Mayor: In March 2016, there were 188 Transport for London employees earning base salaries above £100,000. In March 2020, this had dropped 17 per cent, to 156.
The figures quoted in this question relate to total remuneration in excess of £100,000, including severance payments and overtime worked. The figures also include remuneration received by Crossrail Ltd employees. Crossrail Ltd operates to its own contractually agreed remuneration principles and remuneration framework.

384 bus service

Susan Hall: Do you plan to restore the 384 bus service to the route in operation up to 28 August 2020?

The Mayor: Route 384 was extended between Barnet, Quinta Drive and Edgware bus station, and rerouted in High and New Barnet on 29 August 2020. There are no immediate plans to change the route again, but Transport for London will continue to closely monitor the service in the months ahead.

TfL Furlough (1)

Susan Hall: How many TfL staff were furloughed?

The Mayor: A total of 7,413 Transport for London employees were furloughed under the Government Job Retention Scheme.

Temporary Suspension of Free Travel for 11-17 year olds (1)

Alison Moore: How many a) 5-10 Zip Oyster photocards; b) 11-15 Zip Oyster photocards; and c) 16+ Zip Oyster photocards are currently issued? How many of the a) 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard holders; and b) 16+ Zip Oyster photocard holders qualify for free travel to school?

The Mayor: There are currently 73,189 5-10 Zip cards, 595,771 11-15 Zip cards and 215,522 16+ Zip cards, all of which provide free bus and tram travel to/from school.
The Government has asked Transport for London to temporarily suspend free travel for 11-17 year olds as part of its emergency funding agreement. TfL is discussing the implementation of this with the Government and London’s boroughs. Full details are not yet finalised but would be widely communicated as soon as finalised.

TfL Furlough (3)

Susan Hall: Why did furloughed TfL staff have their pay topped up to 100%?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) used the Government’s Job Retention Scheme at the request of Government in order to access funding for 80 per cent of the salary of furloughed staff.
TfL initiated use of the scheme at the end of April in order to reduce the immediate and urgent pressure on TfL’s cash reserve and prior to reaching the funding agreement with Government. Topping up furlough payments was not only the right thing to do, but also the only thing it could do, since under the arrangements it has in place with its workforce, TfL would have had to enter a minimum 90-day consultation if it were to reduce pay. Had TfL not topped up and delayed accessing funds, TfL’s cash balance would have been at further risk of breaching its minimum cash position.

Tube Noise [5]

Andrew Dismore: I note a recent report by Hird Rail states that they are working with TfL on the potential for new sleepers which reduce tube noise: https://www.railbusinessdaily.com/hird-rail-introduce-new-unique-sleeper-to-reduce-noise-and-vibration-to-the-london-underground/

Has TfL tested their Hybrid Polymer Sleepers? What was the outcome of these tests, and will you consider a trial? If successful, will you install these in locations that suffer from tube noise?

The Mayor: While noise reduction is an added benefit, Transport for London (TfL) primarily uses Hybrid Polymer Sleepers in the open sections of the Tube network when carrying out ballasted track renewals.
Hybrid Polymer Sleepers cannot be used in the deep Tube (where the majority of Tube noise complaints relate to), primarily for reasons of fire compliance.